GoKawiilStar Trek's 60th anniversary highlights tech it inspired, from flip phones to tablets
Sixty years after its 1966 debut, Star Trek is being credited with popularizing several concepts that eventually became real-world technologies. Despite airing only three seasons before cancellation, the show grew into a massive media franchise with films, spinoffs and merchandise, and its speculative gadgets influenced generations of engineers and inventors.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Star Trek's communicators, tablets and voice-activated computers presaged devices like smartphones, iPads and virtual assistants that are now ubiquitous. The anniversary underscores how science fiction can shape real innovation by giving engineers a shared cultural vision to aim for.
- Star Trek debuted Sept. 8, 1966, and was canceled after three seasons.
- The franchise expanded into films, spinoffs, and a massive fan culture.
- Several show concepts anticipated real technologies like mobile phones and tablets.
Star Trek: The Original Series Complete Blu-ray — Celebrate 60 years of Trek by revisiting the show that predicted flip phones, tablets, and voice computers. The remastered Blu-ray set puts all three seasons of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy's five-year mission on your shelf, ready for a full rewatch.
See Star Trek: The Original Series Complete Blu-ray on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: fastcompany.com, 2026-09-08
Published there as: “How ‘Star Trek’ helped invent the future”
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